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Unhappy news for those of us who enjoy Fairway and the fresh and organic food they offer. I believe this is only a NY based grocery chain so doesn't affect most people but fyi for those of us who enjoy shopping there. Doesn't look good for Fairway's survival.
Almost 4 years ago:
and again now:
Almost 4 years ago:
Fairway, Unable to Fend Off Rivals, Files for Bankruptcy (Published 2016)
Despite an ambitious expansion plan, Fairway struggled to compete with Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s, as well as cheaper retailers like drugstores.
www.nytimes.com
and again now:
Fairway planning to file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, close all its stores
Legendary Big Apple grocer Fairway Market is getting ready to call it quits, The Post has learned. The New York City chain — known for its wide selection of cheeses and cheap produce — is planning …
nypost.com
Legendary Big Apple grocer Fairway Market is getting ready to call it quits, The Post has learned.
The New York City chain — known for its wide selection of cheeses and cheap produce — is planning to file for a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, which means the grocery chain does not currently have a plan to continue to exist — unlike when it filed what’s known as a Chapter 11 reorganization plan, sources told The Post.
Under the current plan, Fairway will close all 14 of its stores, including its flagship store at Broadway and West 74th Street, sources said. The liquidation could be announced as soon as Wednesday, sources said.
The liquidation plan comes despite ongoing interest by a potential rival in acquiring the Fairway brand, which dates to 1933 when the Glickberg family opened a fruit-and-vegetable stand on the Upper West Side, sources said.
Village Super Market, the publicly held owner of ShopRite, has expressed interest in acquiring a handful of Fairway stores and keeping the name, sources tell The Post.
“Village Super Market is very well capitalized and they are successful in the suburbs,” said one industry insider. “There are no ShopRites in Manhattan,” this person said of the firm, which did not respond for comment.
As The Post first reported on Jan. 2, Fairway has been toying with bankruptcy protection after failing to find a buyer for its 14 stores last year.
Aside from Village Super Market, prospective buyers of stores owned by Brigade Capital Management and Goldman Sachs Group were scared off by its $174 million debt and expensive leases, including $6 million in rent on its flagship store, sources explained.
Fairway Market braces for another bankruptcy filing
Fairway Market, the beloved Big Apple grocer that has been a staple on the Upper West Side for nearly a century, is on the verge of filing for bankruptcy — again, The Post has learned. Known for it…
nypost.com
Fairway Market, the beloved Big Apple grocer that has been a staple on the Upper West Side for nearly a century, is on the verge of filing for bankruptcy — again, The Post has learned.
Known for its quality produce, prepared foods, cheeses and smoked fishes, Fairway is now preparing to seek bankruptcy protection this month after failing to find a buyer for its 14 stores, multiple sources tell The Post.
The legendary chain, whose tag line is “Like no other market,” may even lose its flagship store on Broadway and West 74th Street as competitors, including ShopRite, have toured the store with an interest in acquiring the real estate, sources say.
“If they are selling their flagship store, which makes all the money, this could be a liquidation instead of a reorganization,” a well-placed source said.
Fairway’s downturn started in 2007 when the Glickberg family sold an 80% stake to private equity firm Sterling Investment for $140 million. Four generations of the family had owned and operated a handful of Fairways in NYC, starting with a fruit-and-vegetable stand that opened in 1933.
Fairway quickly fell victim to Sterling’s aggressive expansion plan aimed at enticing suburban shoppers, which only served to burden the company with a crushing $300 million in debt. Sterling took Fairway public in 2013 and worked to transform the local city grocer into a national chain with 300 stores, including many in the burbs.
Three years later, in May 2016, it filed for Chapter 11 protection after losing money in every quarter of its life as a publicly held company.
It was bought out of bankruptcy by an investment arm of Blackstone, GSO Capital, which recently sold its stake.
https://nypost.com/2016/05/03/fairway-files-for-chapter-11-bankruptcy/
Now owned by lead shareholders Brigade Capital Management and Goldman Sachs Group, Fairway is quietly closing stores with the most recent shuttering in Nanuet, New York — a 65,000-square-foot store that closed in September. Sources say another two stores in New Jersey — in Paramus and Woodland Park — are likely next on the chopping block.
Half of its 14 stores — and the ones struggling the most — are in the suburbs of Long Island, Connecticut and New Jersey, sources said.
“No one bought Fairway because there are still some suburban properties that need to be sold off and its debt is too high,” said retail consultant Burt Flickinger.
Fairway has at least $172 million in debt that matures in 2023 and 2024, according to David Tawil, an expert on distressed debt, who said companies often seek bankruptcy ahead of their debt coming due if they are in danger of tripping debt covenants, including agreements to meet certain financial projections.
In recent months, the grocer has been dangling deals — including coupons for $10 off a $50 bill — to lure in shoppers as it struggles to compete with rivals like Trader Joe’s, which muscled into Fairway’s Upper West Side turf a decade ago with lower prices and a cult-like following.
But the grocer’s once-lush produce section has grown skimpy “and they have raised prices,” bemoaned a source with knowledge of the bankruptcy, who did not want to be identified.
“It went from an everyday, low price model to a typical high-priced supermarket,” this person said.
Fairway did not return calls for comment.